Monday, August 17, 2015

From Behind the Lens

Sharmeen
Obaid has been a name associated with truth-telling, through credible and
inspiring documentary films that have brought difficult truths to the fore. In
her repertoire of work, Sharmeen has been involved in telling stories from
communities that do not otherwise have a voice. In an interview with The Red
Elephant Foundation, Sharmeen shared a little on her journey so far.

1. Could you start by telling us
a little about yourself? Your growing years, education and professional
trajectory, perhaps?

I
grew up in Karachi and went on to do my undergraduate from Smith College and my
masters from Stanford University. My interest in documentary filmmaking and
narrative based story telling was sparked in 2011, when the tragic events
of September 11th shifted the world’s focus to Afghanistan and Pakistan. I was
a print journalist at the time and felt as though I was someone who could
successfully understand both worlds; I thought that I could play a
constructive role in relaying information from the East to the West. Shortly
thereafter, I made my first film, ‘Terror’s Children’, which was about Afghan
refugee children living in Karachi. That experience taught me that there is
always more to the story than what makes it to the evening news, or what graces
our headlines the next day, and that those stories are the ones that need to be
explored in order for us to understand conflict as a social and real thing,
rather than an abstract idea. This sentiment has guided my career as a
filmmaker, and has established a theme of sorts; I go after stories that give a
voice to those that are not usually given the opportunity to speak for
themselves.

Your first documentary project was
Song of Lahore. What inspired that?

‘Song
of Lahore’ was my first feature length documentary.

I
grew up listening to my grandfather's stories of our musical past. He would
often talk about the orchestras that played at concerts and the musicians who
played on Sunday evenings on street corners. By the time I grew up in the '80s,
all of this was a thing of the past. I lived vicariously through his stories
and often wondered what it would have felt to be part of his generation. In
2012, I came across the story of a group of musicians from Lahore who had come
together against all odds to record music using Pakistan's traditional
instruments, and I knew that was a story I wanted to tell. At that time, I had
no idea what the group's journey would be; I just wanted to preserve their
voices and their music. And what a journey it turned out to be. From
Lahore to Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, these musicians found their inner
calling. As our cameras filmed them performing a sold-out concert with Wynton
Marsalis, I thought back to my grandfather's stories of our past and knew that
I had managed to experience some of those moments that night.

You've made multiple award winning
films in over 10 countries around the world. If you reflect on your journey so
far, what would you say your most important and defining moments have
been?

Winning
the Oscar was an indescribable moment in my career. It was the stuff that
dreams are made of. It was a testament to my long-held belief that if you work
hard and strive for excellence, the world will appreciate your product and your
efforts will be recognized. The worldwide attention that it brought to the
subject of Saving Face is even more of a reward; it solidified my drive.

What have your biggest challenges
been? How have you dealt with them?

Starting
out as a documentary filmmaker was a challenge. I had no training in filmmaking
when I came up with an idea for my first film and tried to pitch it. I wrote
about 80 film proposals, mailed them out and waited. I received so many
rejections that I lost count. But was determined to make my film and with each
‘no’, I knew there would be a ‘yes’ somewhere – there had to be a door that I
had not yet knocked upon. And there was. One day, an email I wrote came back
with a positive response.

As a documentary filmmaker, you are a
storyteller who takes fact out into the world through an observer's lens. When
you deal with difficult subjects, how do you retain your objectivity?

While
the aim of my documentaries is to facilitate change in the lives of those who
are in the same circumstances as my subject, I ensure that I am a passive
observer in the life of my subjects, and that I do not influence their
decisions in any way and remain an objective observer.

Using
film as a medium I am able to capture my subject in their natural surroundings
and this usually accounts for context. I always try to capture adequate
background information about my subjects as well as their environment so as to
provide an accurate and all-encompassing picture.

What has your toughest project so far
been?

3
Bahadur was the project closest to my heart that was
quite tough to make since we have never worked on an animated feature film
before. It took me out of my comfort zone and was an uphill climb - putting
together a team, learning how animation works from the initial sketch to the
final shot, and diving into a medium that is both expensive and time consuming.
But we found our pace a few months into the project and what surprised me was
the ease with which we found exceptional illustrators, writers, animators and
visual effect artists.

You've been the voice of those that
are otherwise not heard. How does that feel?

I
feel extremely honored to be able to provide the silenced with a voice and make
their stories heard by others throughout the world.

What goes into making your
creative process what it is? How do you identify your topics of choice and how
do you put the documentary together?

As
an investigative journalist, I feel that it is my duty to address issues that
people do not want to discuss. I’ve always been
interested in topics about human rights and women’s issues that many people
find controversial.I choose to film subjects that
spark difficult conversations and make people uncomfortable. Change only comes
about when people are forced to discuss an issue, and that’s what I hope my
films do by highlighting the issue.